Display device



Oct. 24, 1939. B. s. NASH 2,177,497

DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Feb. 16, 1938 Beryamzh 6. Nash.

1110: RAJ

Patented Oct. 24, 1939 umrso STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to advertising devices, more particularly to those wherein the merchandise advertised maybe displayed.

Due to the ever increasing competition among 5 merchants, particularly of the neighborhood type, such as druggists, grocers, and the like, many artifices have been tried for the purpose of increasing sales. Among such schemes may be catalogued that of featuring a certain article con- 10 siderably below the normal retail price to attract customers into the store. Thus we find many stores advertising daily or weekly specials and as these for the most part comprise goods of standard brands, it is obvious that calling the 15 attention or" the potential customer to the article by displaying the article itself is more efiicacious in producing sales than merely publishing the fact of the sale on printed or written posters.

An object of this invention is to advertise arti- 20 cles of merchandise by calling the attention of the public to the article itself together with suitable selling phrases descriptive thereof.

Afeature of one form of the invention resides in providing a transparency suitably shaped and of 25 sufficient strength to support the object to be displayed and having a display surface for advertising or other descriptive selling matter. The transparency may be shaped so as to form a cradle for the merchandise with a large area above for the descriptive phrases, which latter portion may also serve to suspend the cradle adjacent a plate glass show window, or in a position equally conspicuous.

If desired, the upper portion of the display de- 35 vice may comprisea pocket for the accommodation of a removable display card bearing advertising matter if it is not desired to place such matter directly on the transparency itself and such display card'may be readily changed to adapt 0 the advertising matter or selling phrases to the particular merchandise displayed from time to time.

Also instead of making the display device entirely of transparent material it may consist of a flexible sheet of opaque, semi-transparent or translucent material and may be provided with a window opening for exposing and displaying the merchandise and the window opening may be provided with a cover of transparent material.

A better understanding of the invention may be had by reading the following description together with the accompanying drawing wherein:

f Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustratingone 55 embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing another arrangement for the supporting device.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of another form of the display device in which the cradle is of opaque material and provided at the front with a window for displaying merchandise contained within the cradle.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the display device similar to that shown in Fig. 3 but with the transparent covering of the window opening omitted.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5--5 of Fig. I.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on line --6 of Fig, 2.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 'l'l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a sectional View on line 88 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to Fig. 1, an advertising device I embodying the invention is shown which preferably consists of a sheet of transparent, flexible material. The upper portion 2 of the device is suificiently large to accommodate suitable descriptive phrases 3 referring to the article being advertised. The method of applying the subject matter of the advertisement to the transparent material is immaterial and it may be printed, painted or written thereon. The lower portion of the display device forms a cradle 4 for the accommodation of the advertised article 5. In the embodiment shown the cradle is formed by suitably cutting away the transparent material as at 6, and tapering it to form a tongue element 7. The tongue 7 may have an enlarged end portion 8 for retention in the slot 9. This method of cutting and forming the cradle is merely by way of illustration, and the invention is not limited specifically to this, but includes any other method of forming a cradle for the support of an article. In the formation of the cradle the sheet of flexible material is bent to form front and rear sides and a connecting bottom portion. In the forms of the invention illustrated the front side of the cradle is of greater length than the rear side of the cradle and is extended vertically to provide the portion 2 which serves as a combined hanger and as an area for bearing advertising matter, selling phrases and the like.

In use, the device is designed to be fastened in some suitable manner to a plate glass show window and as the method of attachment is immaterial, none has been described or illustrated.

It is suggested, however, that it may be pasted to the window, fastened by means of stickers at the edges or corners, or supported by rubber vacuum cups in well known manner.

Fig. 2 illustrates a method of supporting the advertising device when it is not used in connection with a plate glass window, but supported on a rod or cord. If the device is used with this type of a support, the upper edge may be looped as at I U for the accommodation of the supporting element which is here shown as a rod II. Also, as shown in Fig. 2 the upper portion I2 of the device may be provided With a pocket l3 for the accommodation of a suitable advertising display card if it is not desired to print the advertising matter directly on the transparent material. In forming the loop I0 and the pocket I3, the sheet of transparent material is of suflicient length to form the card receiving pocket I3 having front and. rear walls and the loop Ill which is located at the top of the pocket I3. The sheet is folded or bent rearwardly at the top of the front wall to form a substantially cylindrical loop I0 and it is then extended downwardly from the loop I0 to form the rear wall of the pocket I3. The rear wall of the pocket 13 is secured at its lower edge to the front wall at the bottom thereofby adhesive material or by any other suitable means. The front and rear walls may or may not be secured together at the top of the pocket I3 to form the front and rear Walls in superimposed spaced relation. The pocket I3 merges into the rod receiving loop Ill; that is, the opposite wall portions of the approximately cylindrical rod receiving loop it continue downwardly below the rod receiving loop I0 and form the front and rear walls of the pocket I3. With this embodiment of the invention the advertising cards may be changed from day to day as the article to be featured is changed. With the device as described above it is obvious that the attention of the customer will be forcibly attracted to the article to be displayed, thereby tending to increase the number of sales.

This invention also provides for a cradle which permits of an adjustment so that it will readily fit a large or small article by raising or lowering the point of attachment, that is, by having a plurality of slots 9 spaced at intervals in a vertical direction. The size of the cradle may be altered by simply changing the slot in which the tongue I is inserted.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing the display device is of substantially the same form as that illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing with the exception that the cradle is formed of a single sheet I 4 of opaque material provided at the front side with a window opening I5 which is covered by a sheet I6 of transparent material. The window opening and the transparent material It enables the merchandise contained within the crade to be advantageously displayed. Instead, however, of covering the window opening with the sheet of transparent material the latter may be omitted as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing in which the display device l'I is provided at the front with a window opening 53 for exposing and displaying featured merchandise. The rear side of the loop or cradle of the display devices shown in Figs. 3 and 4 may be secured at the upper edge I9 and 20 by. adhesive material or any other suitable means according to the character of the merchandise to be supported and displayed.

In describing the invention several embodiments have been mentioned by way of illustration. It is obvious, however, that many others will sugest themselves to those skilled in the art within the spirit ofthe invention which is to be limited therefore-only: by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: I

1. A display device consisting of a suspendable transparency and comprising a substantially fiat sheet of flexible transparent material, a portion of the flat surface of one end of which sheet serves as a suspension member and provides an area for advertising matter, the other portion of the sheet being bent rearwardly of the face portion into a secured looped formation, thereby producing a transparent article holding pocket rearwardly of the face portion with both sides of the pocket open, so that the article to be displayed may be readily inserted and withdrawn from the pocket and due tothe transparency of the displayed article in the pocket can be seen both rearwardly and forwardly of the display device and' from all potential angular viewing positions, the flat face portion of the sheet which serves as an area for advertising matter being looped upon itself in superimposed spaced relation and a pocket thereby formed so that advertising matter may be inserted in said pocket.

2. A suspendable display device comprising a sheet of flexible materialhaving one end portion bent rearwardly into secured loop formation thereby producing a merchandise holding cradle open at both sides of the display device so that the article displayed may be readily inserted in and removed from the display device, the other end portion of the sheet of material being extended beyond the cradle and forming a suspension member and folded to form, an advertising card receiving pocket, the fold of the extended end portion being also adapted to receive a member for supportin the display device.

3. A suspendable display device comprising a sheet of flexible material having one end portion bent rearwardly into secured loop formation thereby producing a merchandise holding cradle open at both sides of the display device so that the article displayed may be readily inserted in and removed from the display device, the other end portion of the sheet of material being extended beyond the cradle and providing a suspension member and folded to form an advertising card receiving pocket, the fold of the extended end portion being also adapted to receive a member for supporting the display device, said display device being provided with means for exposing an article supported within the cradle.

4. A suspendable display device comprising a sheet of flexible material havingone end portion bent rearwardly into secured loop formation thereby producing a merchandise holding cradle open at both sides of the display device so that the article displayed may be readily inserted in and removed from the display device, the other end portion of the sheet of material being extended beyond the cradle and folded to form a loop adapted to receive a member for supporting the display device, said display device being provided at the front of the cradle with a window opening for displaying an article supported within the cradle.

5. A suspendable display device comprising a sheet of flexible material having one end portion bent rearwardly into secured loop formation thereby producing a merchandise holding cradle open at both sides of the display device so that I the article displayed may be readily inserted in vided at the front of the cradle with a window opening for displaying an article supported within the cradle, and transparent material covering the window opening.

6. A suspendable display device comprising a sheet of flexible material having one end portion bent rearwardly into secured loop formation thereby producing a merchandise holding cradle open at both sides of the display device so that the article displayed may be readily inserted in and removed from the display device, the other end portion of the sheet of material being extended beyond the cradle and folded to form a loop adapted to receive a member for supporting the display device.

7. A display device consisting of a suspendable transparency and comprising a substantially flat sheet of flexible transparent material having one of its end portions bent rearwardly into a secured loop formation thereby providing a transparent article holding cradle rearwardly of the front face of the sheet with both sides of the cradle open so that an article to be displayed may be readily inserted in and withdrawn from the cradle at either side thereof and due to the transparency of the sheet the displayed article in the cradle can be seen both rearwardly and forwardly of the display device and from all potential angular viewing positions, the other end of the sheet being extended upwardly above the cradle forming a suspension member and looped at the top to form a loop adapted to receive a supporting rod and extended below the loop to the lower end of said suspension member and forming a rear extension which cooperates with the suspension member to form a pocket having front and rear walls.

BENJAMIN S. NASH. 

